As we celebrate our 100th year as a Parish community, St. Florian extends a warm welcome to the enitre Hegewisch community, and all former members of our parish, and anyone else who is interested in our parish. St. Florian Parish has its roots in the Polish Community of Hegewisch. However, today, St. Florian Parish services the entire community of Hegewisch with its Religious Education programs, Spanish Mass, St. Vincent DePaul Society, and countless other community outreach and service programs.

What's Happening When Parish Calendar of Events Planned Events Catholic School's Week, 2005 Parish Mission (2/21-23) Starlight Memories Prom (4/30) Anniversary Mass (11/5) Anniversary Dinner (11/5) Florian Fest, 2005 (10/2) Fund Raisers T-Shirts Anniversary Calendars Anniversary Book We Need You! Looking for Photos Personal/Oral Histories 50th Anniversary

St. Florian Parish, 1905~2005,
A Century of Faith

FATHER FLORIAN CHODNIEWICZ BUILDS
THE FIRST ST.FLORIAN CHURCH

(From a translation of the Silver Anniversary keepsake book)

Father Florian Chodniewicz received a group of Polish delegates inquiring about building a church for Polish citizens in 1902, shortly after his appointment at St. Columba Church.

A noble and beautiful project was impossible to implement right away mainly due to the fact the parish was too small, the times were “hard” and the project of that scale meant a lot of funds would have to be channeled for that. However, persistent work of Father Chodniewicz resulted in a construction of a wooden Church in 1905.

The early Polish community considered the building to be a Polish heritage watch tower and the first refuge of Catholicism. What a joy it was within the Polish community of Hegewisch, when on October 02, 1905 a celebration of consecration of this small but tidy building took place. At this time, the Polish community of Hegewisch finally had its own church.